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Prime Minister Narendra Modi (File Photo: PTI)
Following a directive from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Tuesday afternoon, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) cancelled its advertisement for lateral entry recruitment to bureaucracy.
In a letter to UPSC Chairperson Preeti Sudan, Minister of State (MoS) in the PMO Jitendra Singh said the proposed recruitment of specialists needs to be “reviewed and reformed” as it does not provide for reservations and is inconsistent with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s focus on ensuring social justice.
“For the PM, reservation in public employment is a cornerstone of our social justice framework, aimed at addressing historical injustices and promoting inclusivity,” he said. Sources said the government would review the lateral-entry recruitment drive to study whether the provisions of reservation could be applied to appoint specialists, which would be done after consulting all stakeholders.
The PMO intervened in the matter in the wake of criticism of the recruitment drive by the opposition INDIA bloc and also key allies of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre, such as the Janata Dal (United) and Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas).
The UPSC had on Saturday (August 17) notified recruiting 45 joint secretaries, directors and deputy secretaries through lateral entry — referred to as appointment of specialists (including those from the private sector) in government departments.
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In Patna, Union Minister Chirag Paswan hailed the decision and thanked the PM. He said the Centre’s decision has reaffirmed the NDA government’s “commitment towards SCs, STs and OBCs”.
The Congress, which had accused the government of trying to “snatch” reservations of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes (OBCs) and Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) through lateral entry, said the Centre’s cancelling the recruitment was due to the campaign carried out by party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc parties.
“Whether it is the long-term capital gain/indexation attack on the middle class in the Budget, or referring the Waqf Bill to JPC (joint parliamentary committee), or putting the Broadcast Bill on the back burner, the power of the people and the Opposition is saving the country from the Modi government,” Kharge said.
In his letter to the UPSC chairperson, MoS Singh said, “Since these positions have been treated as specialised and designated as single-cadre posts, there has been no provision for reservation in these appointments.” The minister said that “this aspect needs to be reviewed and reformed in the context of the PM’s focus on ensuring social justice”.
“Hence, I urge the UPSC to cancel the advertisement for lateral entry recruitment issued on August 17,” he said. The step (cancelling the process) would be a significant advance in the pursuit of social justice empowerment, Singh added.
The minister, however, pointed out that the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC), constituted in 2005, and chaired by M Veerappa Moily, had endorsed the principle of lateral entry. The recommendation of the Sixth Pay Commission in 2013 was also in the same direction, he said. “However, both before and after that there have been many high-profile cases of lateral entrants,” Singh said.
Alluding to the Congress-led UPA’s tenure, Singh said that earlier governments had allowed lateral entrants to “important” posts, such as secretary-level positions in ministries, and the leadership of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), “without following any process of reservations”.
In another reference to the tenure of the UPA-I government, Singh said, “Further, it is well-known that the members of the infamous National Advisory Council used to run a super-bureaucracy that controlled the PMO.”
Singh, in his letter, suggested that unlike its predecessor, the NDA government has attempted to make the process of recruiting lateral entrants through a transparent process. “While most of the major lateral entries before 2014 were made in an ad-hoc manner, including cases of alleged favouritism, efforts of our government have been to make the process institutionally driven, transparent and open,” he said.
The minister said that the PM “is of the firm belief that the process of lateral entry must be aligned with the principles of equity and social justice enshrined in our Constitution, particularly concerning the provisions of reservation”. It is important that the constitutional mandate towards social justice is upheld so that deserving candidates from marginalised communities get their rightful representation in government services, he said.
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh tagged Singh’s letter and pointed out on X that the PMO’s letter to a constitutional authority (UPSC) is without a date. “What pathetic governance this is,” he said. In another post, Ramesh tagged Information and Broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw’s posts on X on Sunday and Tuesday, and said, “The difference between reel and real life”. There is no limit to hypocrisy, Ramesh said.
In his post on Sunday, Vaishnaw had said the Congress’s criticism of the lateral entry system in senior bureaucracy shows its “hypocrisy” since the Second ARC under Moily had recommended it. After the government’s decision to withdraw the lateral entry advertisement, Vaishnaw posted on X on Tuesday, “PM Narendra Modi Ji has always firmly believed in social justice. His programmes have advanced the welfare of the weakest sections of our society.”
First Published: Aug 20 2024 | 8:01 PM IST
